Subaks the irrigation societies
The subak associations were established over a thousand years ago and pre-date the Hindu Majapahits. According to legend, Rsi Markandeya, a great Hindu saint, the first person to set foot on Bali, is credited with founding them. The first reference to a subak by name was in 1022. As early as 896 tunnel builders were mentioned.
The engineering knowledge is sophisticated. The tunnels can be three kilometers long and 40 meters deep.
Water rushes down from the mountains, where the gods are, from higher-level terraced rice paddies into the many lower-level terraced rice paddies. Neighbouring farmers, who are dependent on the same water supply, need to co-operate. To achieve this aim, they form subak associations to ensure that the water is fairly distributed during the long dry season, which stretches normally from April to October.
There are about 1,300 subaks in Bali and each has about 200 members, depending on the size of the plots involved. Everyone who owns land within a subak area must join and pay a joining fee. If a farmer owns land in two subak areas, he must join both. A head of the subak is voted and everyone must attend the meetings. It is obvious that the subak boundaries will not necessarily overlap with village boundaries, so a subak may include members from several villages.
The subak members, like banjar members, have equal rights, regardless of caste or title or indeed the size of their land holding. They meet every month, under their elected head, the klian subak, and decide all matters concerning rice cultivation: times for planting, harvesting, offerings, ceremonies, repairing dams, fertilizing, using insecticides. Subaks also give or withhold permission for new rice terrace construction. The klian subak is also responsible for ensuring compliance with government regulations.
The Dutch underestimated the subak system, as did the Indonesian Government until a few years ago. The careful coordination of rice planting times has a very important role in keeping down pests, a role well understood by the subaks. The effectiveness of burning or flooding a rice paddy after the harvest as a means of controlling pests depends on the co-operation of all the farmers in a given area. A sizeable block has to be burned or flooded to kill the pests, otherwise they just move to the neighbouring field.
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